Podcast: Zero Waste and Sustainable Finance auf dem Prüfstand

By Olivia Wirth
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke

How would a sustainable economy look like? How can we work together to find solutions to stop the ecological crisis?

These questions are addressed in the podcast Future Economies. The podcast offers a space for research, ideas and a discussion of solutions with those concerned with our economy and its environmental and social consequences. For my final project, I featured a bonus episode titled „Zero Waste and Sustainable Finance on trial. Where sustainability is still lacking”. My contribution invited people with an interdisciplinary background to communicate complex issues around people’s socio-economic behavior comprehensible for everyone. The result is an episode with two inspiring conversations around the topics of zero waste and sustainable finance.

Before you tune in, take a moment and imagine your city free of garbage. Hard to imagine, isn't it? A lot would have to change to see this put into practice. Not only our shopping decisions, but also the technologies behind waste management would need to be reconsidered. In the interview, Regina Bichler explained that "Zero Waste" is primarily about generating as little waste as possible. In the first part of the episode, you can find out what I learned from her research around the Zero Waste City Kamikatsu in Japan.

There are many more topics around a sustainable economy that need to be discussed. For that reason, in the second part of the episode, I asked questions concerning companies and finances. They play an important role for addressing ecological and social challenges. But how do companies interpret the term sustainability? How can companies make their environmental, social and governance activities transparently measurable? I talked to Martin Richter about his professional experience and research in the field of "Sustainable Finance."

The two trends toward a city without waste and companies that are judged according to environmental, social and governance criteria, sound hopeful. However, there is still a long way to go. On this journey, we need to address the issue of sustainability, so more people adapt their behavior and investment decisions.

To find out how to manage your waste and finances in a more responsible way, listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or find it here.